Cloud computing refers to elastic provisioning of hardware for computer services, for example in one or more data centers, which may then be made available to users, for example over the Internet. The multiple dynamically provisioned hardware components form a cloud. Hardware resources of the cloud are shared between computer services for optimal performance. The computer services may include computation and data storage.
The cloud can be classified as private, public, and hybrid. A private cloud is operated solely for a single organization. The private cloud may be managed internally or by a third-party, and may comprise security mechanisms to maintain data integrity. A public cloud is open for public use and may be accessed by a large number of users without significant security safeguards. A hybrid cloud is a combination of at least one private cloud and at least one public cloud. A private cloud architecture and a public cloud architecture may be substantially similar. However, security considerations may be substantially different for computer services operating on both the private cloud architecture and the public cloud architecture.